STANFORD, Calif. - No. 21 Stanford came out firing and piled up 15 shots, but Pacific prevailed 2-1 on Senior Night at the Varsity Turf to close within half a game of the America East West Division lead.
Stanford (13-5, 5-1 America East) finishes up the regular season winners of 13 of its past 15 games, including two victories against the Tigers (10-7, 4-1 America East). The Cardinal still locked up the No. 1 seed for next week's America East Conference Tournament, which begins Thursday at 1 p.m. on the Varsity Turf.
Pacific jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Rylee Comeau deflected a long pass from Justine Van Lathem past Kelsey Bing six minutes into the game. The Tigers doubled the lead 18 minutes later off another deflection.
Stanford rallied back, cutting the lead in half on Corinne Zanolli's 24th goal of the season just 2:08 into the second half.
Before Friday night's contest, Stanford recognized its 2018 senior class. Seniors Kennedy Schumacher, Jordan Barry, and Emma Christus have contributed greatly to Stanford's success during their time on The Farm, leading the Cardinal to a 53-26 overall record, three NCAA Tournament appearances and back-to-back America East Conference titles.
Schumacher, from Greenwood Village, Colo., is a two-time NFHCA National Academic Squad selection and has contributed four assists this year in 18 games. An Innovation and Organization major within the Science, Technology and Society track, Schumacher was joined pregame by her father (Lon), mother (Dawni) and sister (Shelby).
Barry, from Chapel Hill, N.C., earned a spot on the America East Conference All-Rookie Team in 2015 and qualified for the America East Conference Honor Roll as a junior. A Communication major, Jordan was accompanied before the game by her father (Tom) and mother (Linda).
Christus, from Bernardsville, N.J., is a two-time America East Conference Honor Roll recipient. Her six goals and 18 points rank second on the team this season. She was also recently invited to participate in next month's NFHCA Division I Senior Game at the NCAA Championships. A Political Science major, Christus was joined by her father (Peter), mother (Ashley) and sisters (Carson, Clayton and Grace).
Next up for the Cardinal is the America East Conference Tournament. Stanford will host the tournament, which begins Thursday Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. and finishes up with the championship game at 12 p.m. on Sunday Nov. 4. The Cardinal's opponent for the Thursday 1 p.m. start will be announced Sunday.